A TikTok clip from Atlanta caught a MARTA bus rolling south on Lenox Road NE with a blunt message lit across its rear display: “CALL 911 HELP!” Viewers initially questioned whether it was staged. The caption asked if it was even real. The comments gave a swift answer, and we can confirm, these messages are typically very real.
City buses across the U.S. use silent alarms built into the driver’s console
Many U.S. transit systems use panic or silent-alarm buttons that let a bus driver trigger an emergency alert.
When pressed, the button notifies dispatch and can push an exterior message such as “Call 911” or “Emergency.” Drivers use it when they can’t speak safely over the radio. Larger metro fleets and newer buses are more likely to have this feature, especially those with digital signs.
But not all agencies program the alert to the outside display. Some only notify dispatch. A few rely on nearby drivers to call 911.
One person who said they worked for MARTA confirmed that drivers have a panic button…